Obama DOJ Cracks Down on Protesters Blocking Abortion Clinics

The Obama administration has stepped up efforts to protect abortion clinics from protesters illegally impeding access to clinic grounds. NPR reported Thursday that the Department of Justice is bringing more civil suits against protesters who trespass and block access to clinics:

The numbers are most stark when it comes to civil lawsuits, which seek to create buffer zones around clinic entrances for people who have blocked access in the past. Under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, the Justice Department's civil rights division has filed eight civil cases since the start of the Obama administration. That's a big increase over the George W. Bush years, when one case was filed in eight years.

As Sharon Levin, vice president at the National Abortion Federation, notes in the NPR piece, protesters who commit minor violations, like trespassing, often end up escalating to more violent acts if they aren't prosecuted.

Kate Sheppard was a staff reporter in Mother Jones' Washington bureau from 2009 to 2013. She is now a senior reporter and the energy and environment editor at The Huffington Post. She can be reached by email at kate (dot) sheppard (at) huffingtonpost (dot) com and you can follow her on Twitter @kate_sheppard.